Leonard Nimoy didn't just have a massive impact on science fiction, he also transformed pop culture. Nimoy, who died today, took the thankless supporting role of an emotionless alien science whiz, and turned Spock on Star Trek into an icon.

Dpa reports that Werner Lang, father of the world famous Trabant, of which between 1964 and 1990 2,8 million were made, died last week from a heart disease in his home in Zwickau at the age of 91. Being from the Erzgebirge region, he studied machine engineering before and after the war, and in 1951 started at the…

English director Peter Yates, known to enthusiasts as the director of Bullitt and therefore cinema's most famous car chase, passed away today at age 82. Here's the 11 minutes we'll always remember him for.

Hiromu Naruse, the chief test driver for Toyota who had a hand in every great sports car built by the Japanese giant since the 1960s, died in June while testing his masterpiece, the Lexus LF-A. Now Toyota is paying tribute.

Comic writer and infamous curmudgeon Harvey Pekar touched on a lot of subjects — mostly to complain about them. As we mourn his passing, we remember his gift of putting our displeasure into words. Here's Pekar on speed traps. [WKSU]

Jan Gabriel, the Chicago-area motorsport announcer who popularized the phrase "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!", died last week at 69. He got his start as a sock-hop disc jockey and eventually moved into automotive television. Fittingly, he passed on a Sunday.

Robert Novak, who achieved notoriety in the 1960s as a political columnist and in 2008 as the driver of a Corvette involved in a hit-and-run accident, died of a brain tumor today at his Washington home.

Peter Wheeler will be remembered as the man responsible for epic TVR supercars like the Griffith, Cerbera, Tuscan and Sagaris. He passed away yesterday after a short illness at age 64. Autocar's Colin Goodwin has written a touching obituary. [Autocar]

Jerry Reed, best known around these parts as the actor who played the truck driver "Snowman" in the Smokey And The Bandit films, passed away yesterday at the age of 71. A successful songwriter and musician, Reed was one of the earliest country music stars to break into Hollywood, paving the way for other crooners to…

After receiving a report earlier today, we've just confirmed the sad news that Phil Hill, the first American to win a Formula One World Drivers Championship, passed away at 10:30 this morning at the age of 81 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Hill will be remembered as one of the greatest race car drivers…